Tuesday 2/26/08- Sam, Joe, Keith, and Brian WIN EASTERNS!! Splits were 3:12, 52, 1:58, 4:14. Sam and Keith cool down for 10 and 10. Brian does 4 miles cooldown and then 8 strides. Don’t know if Joe cooled down or not. The night was capped off with gyros. Other guys do two mile up, then five mile tempo run on the track.

Wednesday 2/27/08- Everybody does easy maintenance run (40 minutes). Sam and Joe go for 3 miles. Keith does 15 minutes and strides on his own. Brian and Kevin run 44 minutes at a quick pace, but not too quick, then did 8 strides.

Friday 2/29/08- Extremely windy although not as cold as yesterday. Still, conditions on the track were not great. Everyone does an easy maintenance run. Macaluso runs 3 miles followed by strides. Brian does 40 minutes with Frankel and went right into a 10k tempon on the track: Total 33:03 Splits 5:18, 5:17, 5:17, 5:16, 5:16, 5:15, 78. 3 minutes later, does 1k in 2:52. Two laps down.

Saturday 3/1/01- Kids meet at the tow path for their long run. Most of the varsity guys complete 13 miles plus in 95 minutes- girls do about 85.

Sunday 3/2/08- Take Brian and Mancuso up to Bernards for a run with Grote and Doug Smith. Brian and Smith do about 15.5 in 1:40 while mancuso does about 14 in 1:37. God run good weather. Coach Wayton consumes about 4 thousand calories in an hour plus at a local eatery.

First things first- Brian’s race was the most amazing thing I’ve ever been a part of. You followed directions and executed courageously. 2:19 @ the 800, 4:36 @ the mile, 8:27 at 3k. 4:24 last mile-2:40 last K, 2:08 last 800, on and on- I’ll post the video as soon as I can to the multimedia- there’s nothing more I can say on the matter- you’re the toughest kid I’ve ever been around- period.

Katie- you’re on your way- big PR!! 10:17 at 3k- through the mile at 5:21- you make an extra push and you’re on the victory stand some day. I’m proud of you!

Mancuso- you got out well in comparison to the guys who were in your group- but the inside was moving much faster- don’t make that mistake at Easterns!!! once there you were concerned a bit too much about how you felt- i could see it- you were making the faces- calm down out there! take it and accept it- it’s part of athletics- all in all it’s sophomore mistakes- you’ll learn! You have more than enough talent and guts to win this race one day!!!! Do the work!!! I’m proud of you. 4:20 outdoors?

Keith- same- sophomore mistakes- you have to be in better position! You got caught back and never were able to make an impact- we’ll work on it- I’m proud of the strides you’ve made this season and excited to see what you have in store outdoors!!! I’m proud of you- lets make the finals outdoors and move towards sub 1:55.

Saturday- 2/23/08- MEET OF CHAMPS. PRACTICE ON YOUR OWN- RUN ON SAFE ROADS FOR 80-100 MINUTES TODAY OR SUNDAY!!!

Friday- 2/22/08-

Thursday-2/21/08-Bowerman specials. 8X400 w/ 125m rest. Kids warm-up for 2 miles followed by 400’s @ 70,68.4,67,68,70,69,69,69. Girls hit 73,78,79,79,82,77,80,78. Easy cooldown. Katie runs for 40 minutes and does easy 200’s @ RP practicing following. Brian and Sam hit 7 miles @ 6:30 pace followed by easy strides. Schoepfer fit in two 800’s in the middle, 2:21 and 2:22- he’d rush over to the 200 mark and finish with the guys- looked good.

Wednesday-2/20/08-most kids do a recovery run. Keith does a 2 mile warm-up and a mixture of race pace efforts, walkin him through his race this Saturday. Katie does 5 miles up at 7:30 pace followed by 2×200@ RP, followed by 4×400@ 80 with 125m jog between each. 2 laps down after. McKee and Franks run an hour @ 6:45 pace. Mancuso and Brian run for 40 minutes @ maintenance pace followed by strides (10). Brian runs 4 miles am.

Tuesday-2/19/08- Most kids do a 20 minute warm-up (Brian and Mancuso did 35:00 minutes up. 4 mile tempo on track (it was very windy and quite cold). McKee runs 23:02, Franks 23:28, Schophs- 23:34, Mnm 24:35, Wallack- 25:00, Brad 24:56, 50- 21:04 (517, 514, 515, 514) Mancuso- 22:56. Mancuso follows with 3 400’s on a 2 minute cycle. Brian does 6X 400’s on a 2 minute cycle in 64-67. Everyone 2 laps down. 50 does 4 miles am with Winston on his chopper….for, you know, protection and stuff for 15 miles on the day. Girls do 4 miles tempo as well- it was a strugle with the weather- Ashley runs great. Core after. Katie does a two mile warm-up and 4.7 miles at threshold (6:15 or so) followed by a short cooldown. Tiffy runs 38 minutes for 5 miles on her own.

Mancuso- GREAT GUTSY RACE!!! Lets look at your splits- 67.3/2:15.6/3:21 (DMR SPLIT FROM A MONTH AGO) /4:27.4, #3 All-Time at South according to our non-existent records department. You should be incredibly proud of yourself!! Where do we go from here? NEVER settle- persuse the online training log to remind yourself of the journey. Nobody wants to admit the noble payoffs of grunt work, they want intervals, flashy workouts, diets etc-like you can get better in a few minutes 3 times a week- I’m not Tony Little and you’re not stupid- It’s the grunt work man- you’ve bought into it- look at the results! One more week- you have more in the tank- lets commit to running a very similar style of race.

Shelby- good race- great season! You’re really coming on- if we were to look at your race we’d have to concentrate on the first lap- you’re a fiery competitor- sometimes if you let that get out of control it can allow you to become a little overambitious the first quarter or so of the race- your splits were 35 (4:40 pace) 77 (5:08 pace) 2:42 (5:24), 4:10 (5:33) , and 5:37 flat. a PR! This is the kind of racing I expect out of freshman- you’re a baby- you’ll learn- we’re all proud of your efforts- I can’t wait to see you tear it up outdoors. You’re fun to watch and show a ton of guts every time!!!

50- a month ago- maybe even in the last week I can remember you really doubting the process- I hope this is validation of the road we take at South, always prepare for the end- not the next week- always spend time creating the long term best of each without concern for invites, duals etc- this is where the prep lies- and it culminates in trips to San Diego, legendary runs at Manhattan, and state titles- we’ll talk in greater detail about next week- but I think you’re ready for the race we’ve been talking about since mid December, your strength is silly- lets keep it low key and have fun these next few weeks. US#1- how many kids, programs, teamates, and coaches can say that?…ever?

Tingy- whew! your best track race to date! 11:54.67 wow! Raced really tough in the middle and it paid off big time!! Lets start thinking what we’ll run when they tear the roof off. I’m very proud of you.

Kellner- 5:22 is a good solid first mile for you, if it’s 80.5, 80.5, 80.5, 80.5- your wasn’t- 76,81,82,83- so at 5:22 your legs were full of blood and waste products- that’s the key to waiting around a little- the good news is you go into next week low on the radar and ready to do some great things- nonetheless, you pr’d indoors at 11:06.79- that’s an honest time- lets visualize in our head running off the leaders- really relaxed and just holding on until we can mame out ONE BIG MOVE NEXT WEEK!! Watch this movie! John Walker– trains like we do and won by making the bigest moves on the biggest stages, sweet hair too. He was my hero growing up. Now my hero is this guy. He had the slowest leg speed in the field- wouldn’t know it by the results. We always finish the season strong- I can’t wait for this Saturday!!

Keith- great race! indoor pr! Splits were 28.5/58.4/1:29/ 2:00.12. I hate to bring this up but ….you could have won the race- you shouldn’t have pounced on those silly guys the first two laps but followed closer instead- they practically asked you guys for s free ride- it seems the winner almost ‘stole’ the race. Nonetheless we’re moving in the right direction. I’m very proud of you.

Becky- 2:29 – a tenth slower than you ran last week- but we’re making progress- we’ll work on our race paces much more outdoors and get you on the way down to 2:20. I’m proud of you!!!

I’d like to thank all the guys who came and watched! I can’t tell you how important this is and how much it means to the success we had yesterday and that which we’ll have down the road- you guys are awesome!!!!!

Sunday- Easy run for most, Mancuso sandwiched his qualifying 4:27 (3rd all-time indoors) with a 13 minute warmup followed by 5 and 5. 50 surrounded his US#1 9:02.6 with a 13 minute warmup and a 10 minute cooldown followed by strides. Katie the same, Keith didn’t get to cooldown (sore hammy). Becky, T2 and Shelby all cooledown and warmed up as usual- with a bunch of big fat PR’s in the middle!!! WE DID GREAT!!!!!

Saturday-2/16/08- Meet at Tow path @ 9:30 am, Frankel and McKee run 14.4 miles to whitehead rd. and back. McKee runs 1:37, Frankel about 10 minutes off the back. Everyone else does 11 miles to Carnegie rd. / Peacock House and back. Kids try to come back at threshold, Schoefs goes out in 38 and comes back in 35:30, Wallack comes back 50 secs. faster in 37:10- Max and Sameer come back in 37:30ish , all in all between 1:13:30-1:15:30 for 11 miles, Girls (Santhiya and Julio) do 11 miles in 1:32 coming back slightly faster. Good weather- tow path sloppy.

Friday-2/15/08- Captains Practice at 9:30 am, rest of kids show at normal time- easy run followed by strides. KK runs on her own, Keith G runs down in Willingboro, and BL completes 11 miles between two runs.

Thursday 2/14/08-All kids did a 13 minute warm-up followed by stretching, drills, and 8 strides. Those- running Saturday did a mixture of easy repeats at race pace followed by easy running strides and core. Brian and Sam did 4×400 @ race pace followed by 300 and 200 slightly faster, Katie, Tingy, Becky and Shelby did 4×400 @ GP followed by 4 easy 200’s at goal pace, easy jogging and strides after. Everyone else did 8X400@ 71 with a 125m rest jog.

Katie- 1600- good job pushing the pace- hey- like I said- 90 percent of the time that kids going to go by you- she out kicks girls that run under 2:20- I’m proud that you made her work for it. It came back to help you in your romping 3200 victory- 11:09- an indoor pr – after you ran your 5:16- this weekend just ht the gas and GO!! You’ve never been ready- you’re racing with confidence and conviction. Run to win this weekend- even if you don’t you’ll push yourself to a tremendous time.

Shelby- looking at your splits it looks like you had a rough time in there-you didn’t- you held your position well and defended it at the end. You went out super fast for the first 3 laps- which is fine- you’ll be all that more ready this weekend- if you can be a little ,more aggressive in the middle of the race and trust your fitness you’ll be a monster this weekend!!! Congrats on making it to states!!!

Tingy- very nice race- you’re pretty fast though- and a little extra concentration will give you the ability to use it to get by that girl next week- Maybe back off the first 400 just a hair next week and push the middle a little harder- if you do that you’ll end up with an 11……? Congrats on making it to states!!!!!!

Becky- 90% of a great race-a good race nonetheless- 1. you got out great- in perfect condition- not too fast- hit eh 400 at 70- which is fine- where you should be- then you relaxed a bit- looked like you were worrying- don’t worry- you’re in the best shape of your life! Hang in there and use your excellent speed and strength to do some real damage on the last lap- you did 1, 2 perfect this past weekend- lets finish it!!!!! Congrats on making it to states!!!

Tiffy- brave race- your strength almost carried you to states- we’ll continue to work and get you to outdoors in great shape- your leadership along with Santhiya has been spectacular- keep up the great work!

Brian- well- things couldn’t have gone much better to this point- you’re an aerobic monster and really can’t do much more in that department. All you have to do now is pay attention to pace and race tactics- 67.5/ 2:15/4:30/6:45/9:00. Learn it, live it, run it. 4:47/4:36 right after running a 4:18- that 7th lap may have been a little too aggressive.- cost you an even 4:30. Remember- spread out your aggression- Clint Eastwood- he kills bandits over a 3 hour movie- consistently- anyone can get lucky at the OK coral- Eastwood kills you every day. It burns inside him. I’ll stop now in case the analogy is lost on you guys…hahahah.

Mancuso- for whatever reason you convinced yourself to be in poor mood- you might have a bug or something but feeling good doesn’t have to relate to running fast- get your sleep- eat well, do the little things- and commit to finishing the race! and you’ll run under 4:30 and get to states- it’s not going out as fast this week- so your splits should be more even- know this though- you have to be aggressive out there!!! You have to race the middle- gotta get a benevolent mean streak in you! Your fitness is there- and even if it wasn’t there’s nothing you can do about it now. It’s up to you big guy!! Time to make the donuts!!!!! (gotta go to work).

Keith- you’re becoming more and more coachable- learn to pay attention to the little things (diet) and you’ll emerge as a top runner- at the very top- you have as much speed as anyone over 400m- commit to increasing your muscular and aerobic strengths and you’ll be THE GUY!!! Great race, congrats on winning a sectional championship- don’t be satisfied though! Get out there and look for the next peak- same exact tactics this week- but you’re going to have to stay even closer!!!!

Darmofal- simply put one of the best races you’ve had- you made a major impact in this race- looked great- you can run as close to 2 as you want outdoors- how close do you want to get??? I’m very proud of you.

County Meet 2/3/08

Brian- 1600- good- I thought you raced well- my only point of criticism would be your 400-800 area- you let the pace lag there a bit- other than that you led wire to wire- did great- you’re fit!!!, 3200- went well- 4:53 at the mile, home in 4:30. 9 flat is around the corner- lets stay healthy and keep it simple down the stretch.

Mancuso-1600- very good- 2:13 at the half- nice and tight- something to think about for Sunday- don’t get gapped- not even a little bit- just drift right off everyone’s shoulder- also- especially in the 3200- hug the rail- you were out in lane 2 almost. Little stuff from here out. Major goals ahead of us, 1. Lets eat into the 4:20’s as much as we can, 2. I’d like to get a 9:40 before we’re outside- two more weeks for that!, 3. if you can hit a 3:17 we’re going to Penn!!!. You’re on your way- you’re doing all the right things- I’m very proud of you. You’re doing great! Emerging into one of the best talents in the state!!!

McKee- sick but out of it as well- in a championship race you can’t run the engine with the regulator in there- you were shootin’ at the hip.

Keith- I know you’re disappointed but I saw a lot of good in your race. Lets go through it. 1. you got beat off the line, thumbs down. 2,. You spent 190 meters repenting for the sin of the first 10m’s , thumbs neutral. 3. you weren’t in position to strike- thumbs down, 4, you didn’t give up ‘til the line- BIG THUMBS UP! You’ll get there- great speed in the relay! It’s strength you need- and I don’t mean ‘I want to play football strength’….aerobic strength. You can win this weekend if you pay attention to the 4 points above.

Darmofal- Great race- a perfect race would have been a determined a-b evil steel cold death blow of a kick the last 70 m. Everything else was great! Proud of you.

Nathan- got out cruddy- didn’t respond- Nate you’re fast and fit enough to where u could have at least sat on Chris’s shoulder- lets work on that from here on out!!! You’re there!

Schmitty- good job buddy- hit the half at 2:20- for your info- last year- Foy and Mancuso caboosed the final in 4:52 and 4:53- look at what they went on to do- that’s you- keep committing to the long runs- stay the course- and you’re on your way!!!

Katie – wow- first- I’m very very very proud of your 1600- remember- the farther we push down the mile and 800 the more efficiently you run at your 3200 pace- the faster you eventually become. I predict you will eventually become very fast. Lets continue to work on the plyo’s core and track-work. You’re super motivated and hungry! Stay with it!!!

Tiffy- you’re doing great- no matter what I put you in you get do all the right things- I’m so proud of you- a student of the sport!! I think we can have three girls under 5:25 this spring and a 4×8 that can break the school record! (9:49) Becky to Tiffy to Shelby to Katie. Can you help get us there?

Ting Ting- you run the 3rd 800 tough this weekend we creep under 12 and go to states!!!! You’re gonna do it!!!!!!

Shelby- you know how I know you’re tough? because at the end when there’s someone next to you you go after them HARD!!! 5:39 is on our way to 5:20’s this spring!!!

Becky- if you get out well this weekend you’ll run GREAT- if you get out in a bad sport the same will occur- we’ll work on it this week- you know the movie Seabiscuit?- with the bell? Of course you do.

Brian Leung and Katie Kellner turned some major heads this weekend but it was the major 4th place efforts and sneaky championship tactics of Keith Griffith that made people eyes pop! Sam Macaluso grabbed valuable 4th place team points and Ting Ting and Shelby matched his efforts with 4th places of their own. Keith surged hard on the last lap and timed his kick well to earn a Pirate sweep of the distance events in Central Jersey Group 3. Brian borke his own school record in the 1600 with an easy and smooth 4:18 and Katie Kellner busted a fantastic 11:09 school record minutes after her 2nd place effort in the mile. Awesome Job Pirates!!!!!

2/4/08

Pirate’s Shine at Mercer County Championships!!!!!

Big time Doubles in the Bubbles!!!

Katie Kellner and Brian Leung posted the fastest girl’s and boy’s time respectively in meet history at the Mercer County Championship this past Sunday. What made the performances most impressive was that both runs came following fast miles which were held earlier in the day. Katie ran an indoor-personal best time of 5:15 bravely leading until the last few laps while Brian led a wire to wire victory in the 1600 (4:19.4). In the wake of such tremendous performances were some other notable Pirate achievements. Sam Macaluso ran the fastest indoor sophomore time in school history with a 4:30.82 clocking. Sam’s time ranks him 3rd All-Time in school history! Sam came back later in the day to place 5th in the 3200 with a time of 9:56.03. Nick Schmidt continued on his goal to 4:40 with a solid 4:48 showing. In the 800m Keith Griffith made a major impact and finished 4th before charging back with a 51 second leg on the mile relay. Ting Ting placed 5th in the girl’s 3200 with an indoor best of 12:10. Ting Ting aims at running in the 11’s next week at the bubble. Shelby Miller and Santhiya Mahilkanthan pr’d in the girl’s mile. Santhiya bravely pushed the pace and was rewarded with a PR of 5:56! Shelby continued her stellar freshman year with another pr of 5:39! Great job Pirates!!! One week ’til sectionals!!!

1/23/08

4 Pirates Under 4:50!

The Fighting Pirates have had four runners go under 4:50 for the mile this year and SEVEN go under 5.

Brian Leung (4:19.7), Sam Macaluso (4:40), Brian Schoepfer (4:48) and Nick Schmidt (4:49) lead the yearly list on the boys side! On the girl’s side Shelby Miller has dropped her mile PR down to 5:44!!!

BOYS WIN GROUP 3 Distance Medley Championship!!! The team of Sam Macaluso, Keith Griffith, Jeff Riemann, and Brian Leung won the school’s first ever relay championship last week at the Jersey City Armory. The Pirate’s time was the state’s 2nd fastest time from all Groups!

1/7/08-

Bien Trabajo! Brian set the country’s 2nd fastest 2 mile time for this early season in a solid 9:22.9 at the Hispanic Games held at NYC’s 168th Street armory. Other ‘hot’ times included Brian Shoepfer’s 4:48 in the full mile and Mancuso’s 4:40/ 2:07 double. Up next for the Pirate’s is the State Relay Championship. The Pirate’s look to build on their excellent State Cross Country showing this weekend at the Jersey City Armory in beautiful Jersey City, NJ.

THURSDAY-Sectional Team runs distance 45 min. (BL 4 miles am) and strides after followed by 400 reps of core work.. Those not running sectionals run 8×400 with a measured rest in 75 seconds. Sectionals team does 35 minutes followed by 3 400’s @ easy, medium, hard, short cooldown and core. Everyone else did 8×400 @ 83 with a measured recovery. Core after.

WEDNESDAY-30 minutes up (15 for BL) drills, strides, Mancuso and Schoefs did 3×200 in 30-31, then 800 in 2:11, then a few 400’s running negative split- 2 laps easy 12 barefoot strides, Keith and Darmofal did a mixture of 200’s and 400’s at race pace. BL did 1000m in 2:37.9, then an 800 (1st 400 @ 32 GP, 2nd 400 @ GMP). BL did 4 miles am. easy run and 200’s with plyo’s.

Sunday-MCC- we did great- Brian and Sam do great and Katie wins big in a new Meet record time! Go Pirates!!!

Saturday-oyo due to belly illness

Friday-Easy Distance 40-60 min.

Thursday-County Team does 30-45 minutes followed by 12-16 strides. BL does 4 miles am + 7 miles PM. Teams do 12-16 strides following. JV does 2 miles up and 10-14 200’s with plyo hops in between reps. 2 laps down plus 400 reps of core. County Team does 30-45 minutes followed by 12-16 strides. BL does 4 miles am + 7 miles PM. Teams do 12-16 strides following. JV does 2 miles up and 10-14 200’s with plyo hops in between reps. 2 laps down plus 400 reps of core.

Wednesday-2 miles up, 10 x 200 slightly faster than race pace. Keith hit <29- except one where he tried unsuccessfully to catch Coach Wayton- judging by the heavy breathing behind me I’d say he was about 27. Rest was jog across track. Same as boys- Katie did 6x plyos at 26″ between repeats.

Sunday-SAT GROUP- 75 minutes at maintenance pace- followed by one more mile repeat at tempo than you did last week. Leung runs 12.6 miles at 5:55 pace followed by 4 miles at tempo (5:10-15/mi.) for a total of 16.6.

Saturday-Katie- do 8 miles at 6:43 pace followed by 3 miles at 6:20 pace. 11 total.